chmod 304 Permission Explained

Notice: This is an unusual permission set: some classes have more access than the class above them. It is rarely correct in practice.

Octal

304

Symbolic

-wx---r--

Binary

011 000 100

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 304 gives the owner write/execute, the group no access, and everyone else read.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				3
Group (g)				0
Others (o)				4

setuid (4) setgid (2) sticky bit (1)

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

304

-wx---r--

Owner: write/execute · Group: no access · Others: read

chmod 304 filename

Low Risk Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.

View the full chmod 304 guide →

chmod 304 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`3`	`-wx`	Write and execute	Can enter and create/delete files, but not list
Group (g)	`0`	`---`	No access	Cannot list, enter, or modify
Others (o)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter

Is chmod 304 Safe?

Low Risk

Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.
Scripts need read permission to run; only compiled binaries can be executed without it.
Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.

Common Use Cases

304 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 700.

chmod 304 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 304 filename

# Apply using equivalent symbolic mode
chmod u=wx,g=,o=r filename

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 304 /path/to/dir
# Note: -R applies the same mode to files and directories. Use find to treat them separately:
find /path/to/dir -type d -exec chmod 304 {} +

# Verify permissions
stat -c '%a %A %n' filename    # Linux
stat -f '%Lp %Sp %N' filename   # macOS

# Example ls -l output:
--wx---r-- 1 alice staff 1024 Jan 15 10:00 example.txt

umask Relationship

A umask of 473 makes new directories 304. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 304 mean?

chmod 304 gives the owner write/execute, the group no access, and everyone else read. In octal notation, the owner receives 3 (write/execute), the group receives 0 (no access), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 304 safe?

chmod 304 is classified as Low Risk. Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.

What is chmod 304 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 304 is represented as -wx---r--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=wx,g=,o=r filename".